Roto Roundup: Jose Bautista Homers 3 Times, Aroldis Chapman to the Minors?

I think we might hear later this week, maybe as soon as today, that Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman will be sent to AAA to work on his mechanics, as he is not helping the Reds bullpen of late. Chapman entered yesterday's game in the 9th inning with the Reds leading 9-2. He proceeded to get one out, but walked 4 and gave up 4 runs. He made 23 pitches, 5 of which were called strikes. In 15 innings this year, he has a 6.92 ERA, a 2.00 WHIP and a K/BB rate of 15-20. In his last 1 1/3rd innings pitched, covering 4 appearances, he has given up 10 runs, on 2 hits, TWO hits, 12 walks and 3 strikeouts. He has faced 19 batters, with 14 reaching base and 10 scoring.

Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista has become the best hitter in baseball, or second best if you think Joey Votto is better, and he was Fake Teams Fantasy Player of the Day for Sunday.

Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez has stayed hot as he went 2-4 with another HR on Sunday. His 6 HRs and 15 RBIs in a backup role are solid for a starting catcher, but he is being platooned so far this season. I wonder if he hits so well that the Reds consider dealing catching prospect Devin Mesoraco this season to fill a need. I doubt it because Mesoraco is so close, but you never know.

More Roundup after the jump:

Braves third baseman Chipper Jones was diagnosed with a partially torn meniscus in his right knee, and the hope is that will cure the discomfort. If not, he will undergo surgery and miss up to 3 weeks.

Lots of Reds news today. Manager Dusty Baker announced yesterday that he will be giving more starts to Chris Heisey and Fred Lewis in left field going forward. I have an article scheduled to post over at Minor League Ball about this situation on Tuesday. Jonny Gomes stock has dropped as a result.

Marlins starter Javier Vasquez has been horrible this season, and it continued on Sunday, as he gave up 6 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings. He is now 2-4 with a 7.55 ERA, 1.91 WHIP and a 20-24 K/BB rate. He should be dropped or benched until he can put together a few solid starts in a row where he is striking out more than he is walking.

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters went 3-4 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI and is now hitting .265-.341-.419 with 4 HRs and 21 RBIs this season. He is on pace to go 17-87 this year. I think fantasy owners would be quite happy with that stat line from Wieters this season.

Braves second baseman Dan Uggla went 2-3 with a walk, 3 runs scored and a game winning HR off of Phillies ace Roy Halladay. Uggla now has 7 HRs and 15 RBIs with a triple slash line of .205-.273-.391. Uggla is a notorious slow starter, and fantasy owners are hoping this game is the game that gets him going at the plate. Yes, I own him in two leagues.

Mets second baseman Justin Turner had a breakout game on Sunday going 2-4 with a HR and 5 RBIs. In 39 at bats this season, he is hitting .308-.357-.436 with a HR and 9 RBIs. Could he take over at second base even when Ike Davis returns?

Mets third baseman David Wright went 0-3 with 2 Ks and a BB, lowering his BA to .226 on the season. He is in a 4-32 slump with 11 Ks and 8 walks in his last 10 games. 

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun went 2-3 with 2 walks, a HR and 4 RBIs on Sunday. He raised his triple slash line to .309-.399-.597 with 12 HRs and 33 RBIs, and is on pace to go 49-134-.28. Wow.

Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre went 1-2 with 2 walks, a HR, 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs on Sunday. He is hitting .252-.304-.500 with 10 HRs an 33 RBIs. His BA has dropped from last year, but he is on pace to go 41-134 this season.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus went 2-5 with a run scored and a SB on Sunday. I have to say I am surprised to see him hitting .274-.325-.356 at this point, as I was lower on him than Fake Teams readers were in the preseason. He now has 13 SBs for the season and could steal 40+ if he keeps up this pace.

Padres starter had his best start in quite awhile as he won his first game in his last 12 starts dating back to 2010. He went 5 1/3rd innings, giving up one run on 4 hits, 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. What's concerning is his 3 walks and only 5 swinging strikes.

Diamondbacks starter Ian Kennedy won his 4th game of the season, giving up just one run on 4 hits, and 8 strikeouts. He owns a 3.05 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 53-20 K/BB rate. You think the Yankees could use him right now?

Although he has been hitting of late, one has to wonder how much longer the Dodgers will keep running first baseman James Loney out there on a regular basis. He is hitting just .230-.266-.270 on the season with just 4 of his 34 hits going for extra bases.